Liam Plunkett and Chris Jordan are plusses, but the captain desperately needs
a major innings in the second Test at Headingley

It was a thrilling finish in the end but at Leeds this week I hope we see a proper, old-fashioned Headingley pitch with pace and bounce because the quality of cricket is dependent on the quality of the surface.

For most of this Test the pitch was so flat and lifeless that every bowler was running in hoping, rather than expecting, to take wickets.

It was too easy for the batsmen to score runs and too difficult for the bowlers, making it a no-contest.

But we cannot complain too much because in the past 11 matches here there have been 10 results, so let us hope that this is just a one-off.

We have seen some plusses for England. Liam Plunkett bowling fast through the air, round the wicket into the ribs caused problems for all the right-handers.

He either hit them on the helmet, the arm or the shoulder but unfortunately he did not take wickets, because the pitch sucked the life out of every ball he banged in.

It has been like bowling on a sago pudding. If we ever get a decent, pacy, bouncy pitch, then he will cause some serious problems for the Sri Lanka batsmen.

Chris Jordan has done well, too. He seems as if he has a knack of getting a wicket and I like his batting.

But I am worried about his run up to the crease. It is laboured, so it lacks momentum as he approaches the stumps, which means that he has to do everything in the last two strides and that is a recipe for injury.

Moeen Ali batted very nicely in the first innings but played an immature shot in the second to be bowled through the gate.

Every youngster is allowed to make a mistake or two but if he is going to stay in the game at this level he has to tighten up fast.

His bowling looks useful but he does not give me the impression of being a match-winning spinner, and that is a huge problem for England because we cannot go through Test matches depending on four seamers.

We need some quality spin bowling.

I had never seen Sam Robson bat before this match but after only two innings I am concerned for his future at this level. His judgment around off stump is not very good.

He plays at the ball with a certain stiffness, which is not ideal when you are opening the batting. The new ball is liable to swing or seam and therefore you need to have relaxed hands, and to be able to play it late so that you can go with the movement of the ball.

It is right, though, that he should play at Headingley. I do not believe in giving youngsters just one Test match, but we need to see a big improvement there otherwise England will be looking for another opener.

The biggest problem of all is the captain. It is Alastair Cook’s nature to be a cautious leader.

You cannot change people’s character, but if you are a batsman-captain then you need to score runs.

Making runs will give him the confidence he needs to be a bit more positive and proactive in his captaincy.

My own view is that he needs time in the middle in international cricket. Making hundreds for Essex in the second division of the County Championship does not count for a lot.

He is looking for easy-run balls off his legs and square off the back foot. I would like to see him playing in the V between mid-off and mid-on.

I would like to see more of the maker’s name on the bat and better footwork getting him out to the pitch of the ball. If he fails twice at Headingley then there will be a big question mark because we will have two struggling openers. This is our biggest problem.

Our openers struggled at Lord’s on one of the easiest pitches to bat on against one of the most ordinary seam attacks in international cricket. It makes me wonder what this lot are going to do when they face Australia and Mitchell Johnson.

The Headingley pitch for the second Test this week could be anything. This summer we have had some that have been lively, seamed a bit and bounced.

Others have been flat. We need one of the old-fashioned Headingley pitches that have a nice true bounce but seam a bit throughout the game.

If we can get lateral movement we can bowl Sri Lanka out. But if they are just flat decks then they feel at home because that is what they play on in Sri Lanka.

It is up to our groundsmen to give England something that helps our seamers because we are not going to win a Test match with Moeen Ali’s bowling. What does it say about English cricket if Ali is our best off-spinner?

Ian Bell will be playing his 100th Test at Headingley. He has to grasp the nettle and realise that he is the best player in England.

He has a range of shots, brilliant timing, he is pleasing on the eye and the world is his oyster. This is the moment, at 32 years of age, when he is in his pomp.

He now has to fashion scores for England to win Tests. We do not give a toss how quickly he scores, or how many boundaries he hits.